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Human Rights In Australia

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Human Rights In Australia
LEGAL STUDIES – HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT:
TREATMENT OF REFUGEES/ASSYLUM SEEKERS.

Human rights are universally recognized liberties for each human in the world granted by birth. Just the fact that you are born entitles you the right to be treated in a comfortable and respectable manner. The important part of these rights is that they are undeniable and inalienable. Meaning no human being should be denied of them, and that no-one can be alienated from them. These rights are equal to all cultures and ethnic groups. Gradually, with the help of protesting, campaigning, support groups and organizations, these rights are being reflected in legal systems with acts and laws with means of enforcement, protection and promotion of the importance of these
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A study by the Australian Human Rights Commission (2004) discovered many disturbing factors. Firstly, Australia’s system of mandatory detention deems detainment as the only option. Due to long periods of detainment, many children were showing signs of considerable mental harm including illnesses such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and were having difficulty developing. A child should be kept in detention for no longer than 3 months. However, this study found that normally a child in an Australian immigration detention center would be kept for one year, eight months and eleven days. Furthermore, these detention centers were highly inadequate as they were considered below the basic levels of human rights requirements for they lacked in many areas such as protection from physical/mental from violence/care, disabled children and …show more content…
As stated before, a refugee is a person who has fled his or her country for fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, or membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Once classified as a refugee, it is stated that one has obligations to fulfill in regards to that particular country’s legal system. As well as this, the nation in question must also uphold responsibilities to this individual. This includes not discriminating against any individual because of their race, religion or country of origin. Furthermore, the convention also states that the rights of each refugee must be respected, but at the core of this convention is the concept of ‘non-refoulment’. That is, not sending an individual or group back to a country where they may be persecuted. However, there are many problems with this convention. This is reflected in Australia’s often cruel and unfair treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. Due to its creation in 1951, it doesn’t provide adequate protection and legislation for modern situations of refugees and asylum seekers. Firstly, the definition of a refugee has changed remarkably. Coined in a post World War II world, and beginning of the cold war era, numbers and flow of refugees were lower and slower due to

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